Just some observations (13 vs 15)

[TSE]

I was just at the Apple Store for the first time in about five years and had the opportunity with the MacBook Pros with the current design.

I have to say... it amazes me how much smaller the 13 inch MacBook Pro feels versus the 15! It seems to use the space offered a lot more intelligently. I think one of the design aspects that feel quite dated with the MacBook Pros, especially the 15" is the footprint of the machine - I am looking forward to the design refresh where the screen bezels shrink (becoming even among the top & bottom & sides would be nice, too).

The keyboard - I hear a lot about it, and this was my first time using the butterfly keyboard. What I have to say is, from my twenty minutes using it... I can see both sides. With less travel, and a quicker recoil, I feel like someone could theoretically type a lot, lot faster on it. I quite enjoyed it. But I can also see how with long typing sessions it might become extremely frustrating and tiring to use, and I made A LOT of typos while using it... if I go with the MacBook Pro I'd hope to get more used to it.

Another decision that I think is odd is how close silver is to space grey. It's a much bigger deal with smaller objects like the iPhone - but for a large object such as the MacBook Pro in a lighted environment they are so similar. I prefer the silver if it means anything - but a a much darker "slate" MacBook Pro, like the iPhone 5 would be really cool.

 

[GoldfishRT]

It certainly is striking how much of a difference 2" diagonal makes. I don't have the best eyes and love the 15" size at the desk but it's frankly cumbersome on the couch. Unfortunately a lot of that is to do with the aspect ratio and not the overall size of the bezels. The XPS 15 for instance, has small bezels on 3 sides of the display but the bottom one is hyuge. The aspect ratio plays a stronger role in it being more usable on an airplane tray or lap than the measured diagonal of the screen does, or the size of the MacBook Pros bezels for that matter, since I'm sure taken as a whole they're not terribly dissimilar in the actual surface area those account for as far as footprint.

I've grown to actually like if not love the 3rd get butterfly switch. Especially on the 13" Pro, it seems to have much softer damping and very strong rebound. My 15" is a bit mushier than I'd like but, the 13" is a bit better and more than adequate as somebody who likes to type.

The silver vs. space grey thing - it really depends on the conditions. Space grey has a lot of depth and texture, especially in lighting conditions that don't include fluorescents blasting from all directions. In the home, I much prefer it - but there are certainly conditions where the difference appears relatively minor and situations I prefer the silver. Just wish the Apple logo was still white at least - not a fan of the chrome mirror look.

 

[crawfish963]

I was just at the Apple Store for the first time in about five years and had the opportunity with the MacBook Pros with the current design.

I have to say... it amazes me how much smaller the 13 inch MacBook Pro feels versus the 15! It seems to use the space offered a lot more intelligently. I think one of the design aspects that feel quite dated with the MacBook Pros, especially the 15" is the footprint of the machine - I am looking forward to the design refresh where the screen bezels shrink (becoming even among the top & bottom & sides would be nice, too).

The keyboard - I hear a lot about it, and this was my first time using the butterfly keyboard. What I have to say is, from my twenty minutes using it... I can see both sides. With less travel, and a quicker recoil, I feel like someone could theoretically type a lot, lot faster on it. I quite enjoyed it. But I can also see how with long typing sessions it might become extremely frustrating and tiring to use, and I made A LOT of typos while using it... if I go with the MacBook Pro I'd hope to get more used to it.

Another decision that I think is odd is how close silver is to space grey. It's a much bigger deal with smaller objects like the iPhone - but for a large object such as the MacBook Pro in a lighted environment they are so similar. I prefer the silver if it means anything - but a a much darker "slate" MacBook Pro, like the iPhone 5 would be really cool.

As time goes by, I find that my typing with the keyboard on my 2018 13" gets faster and more accurate. It took some adjusting to, though.